<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> The Celtics signed free agent guard Eddie House this afternoon to a one-year deal, apparently solving their need for a veteran backup to point guard Rajon Rondo. He also reports: The Celtics also signed Jackie Manuel, a 6-5 wing player who played for Los Angeles in the NBDL last season, and is considered a solid defensive player. He was named the ACC’s defensive player of the year two seasons ago while at North Carolina. Next up in the free agent market is a big man. PJ Brown, the 37-year-old power forward who is reportedly seeking the full mid-level exception ($5.6 million) for his services, has probably priced himself out of the Celtics’ range. The team is currently checking into the market for Dikembe Mutombo, who could fill in nicely as a backup behind Kendrick Perkins. Mutombo is currently in Africa, where he is on his annual mission at the head of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program. So, Eddie House, Jackie Manuel, and Dikembe Mutumbo. Not exactly what a lot of fans were hoping for, but they do fill roles of need. House is a backup PG that can shoot. Manuel is a defensive wing. Mutumbo is a defensive 7 footer. Update: There is a rumor going around that Ryan Gomes might get cut by the TWolves and sign back with the Celtics. Cross your fingers. </div> Source The part about Gomes coming back makes no sense. Why even include him in the trade? His salary is too minuscule to have had an affect on whether the trade worked under the cap. If he was cut I'm sure there would be plenty of teams right there offering the MLE as well so I don't see why he could go back to Boston for a reduced salary.
"If a team trades a player and the player is waived by the receiving team, the player's original team cannot re-sign that player for 30 days (during the season) or 20 days (during the offseason) following the date of the trade." http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm Unlikely they will cut Gomes since his salary is very low and he's productive. In the event he does get waived, he'd also have to clear waivers and sit around for a month before Boston re-signs him. He probably wouldn't want to risk not getting a contract and will likely sign with another team.
<div class="quote_poster">johnny33 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">"If a team trades a player and the player is waived by the receiving team, the player's original team cannot re-sign that player for 30 days (during the season) or 20 days (during the offseason) following the date of the trade." http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm Unlikely they will cut Gomes since his salary is very low and he's productive. In the event he does get waived, he'd also have to clear waivers and sit around for a month before Boston re-signs him. He probably wouldn't want to risk not getting a contract and will likely sign with another team.</div> I guess the big if would be if he decides to ask the Timberwolves to be released. Gomes wasn't just a good fit stylistically for the Celtics, he grew up in the area too (Connecticut for high school, then Providence for four years college). He may just not want to move his home. The Wolves just released Hudson upon his request, so if Gomes wanted out, maybe they'd let him go too.
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I guess the big if would be if he decides to ask the Timberwolves to be released. Gomes wasn't just a good fit stylistically for the Celtics, he grew up in the area too (Connecticut for high school, then Providence for four years college). He may just not want to move his home. The Wolves just released Hudson upon his request, so if Gomes wanted out, maybe they'd let him go too.</div> Maybe but he could always go to a close-by team as well. I can't see anyone turning down a MLE type contract to go play for whatever the Celtics can offer. I understand he probably loves to live at home but theres a BIG difference between 5.5 mils base salary over 5 years and the lets say 2 mils a year Boston could offer. Theres always NJ, Philly, Cleveland, Charlotte in that general area. Also, the Hudson situation was totally different. He got bought out after demanding a trade and he was basically 6 mil/year albatross. Gomes is a cheap, young, productive player. If its true and Gomes wants out I'd just hold him hostage to see what I could get in a trade, its not like his contract will kill their team financially. If he wants to leave hes a FA next offseason.
I don't get why they were so quick to sign House. The guy's pretty one-dimensional, and he doesn't fill their veteran pass-first PG need. Eddie House's playmaking ability and passing is average at best. He's good for a quick offensive spark off the bench, but that's it. Don't see why they didn't make a run for Knight.
<div class="quote_poster">The One & Only Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I don't get why they were so quick to sign House. The guy's pretty one-dimensional, and he doesn't fill their veteran pass-first PG need. Eddie House's playmaking ability and passing is average at best. He's good for a quick offensive spark off the bench, but that's it. Don't see why they didn't make a run for Knight.</div> It's all about the money. After spending all that dough on three players, the Celtics probably aren't even going to use their full MLE, which is what Brevin Knight would be asking for. They're going to try to fill their roster with players who'll sign for the veteran's minimum. I like the Manuel signing. He couldn't score ten points in an open gym, but he's an upgrade on any defender the Celtics currently have in the backcourt. He could bring balance and be the X-factor on this roster. Current projected rotation (?): PG - Rajon Rondo / Eddie House / Gabe Pruitt SG - Ray Allen / Tony Allen SF - Paul Pierce / Jackie Manuel PF - Kevin Garnett / Glen Davis / Brian Scalabrine / Brandon Wallace C - Kendrick Perkins / Leon Powe That leaves them with two open roster spots and their entire MLE left.
Agree with VC, at this point Boston is just looking at good value, cheap veterans. They aren't going to use their whole MLE, at least not on one guy. House was available for cheap and even though hes not the perfect fit he's a veteran and you know what you're getting from him every night. Hes definitely not a pure PG but he can at least handle the ball well enough to bring it up (in which case they can run the offense through Garnett/Pierce/Allen) and push the break. Hes also a guy who will thrive camping around the 3 point line and nailing 3's off of the kickout pass from the big 3. He'll definitely contribute and add depth. So far they addressed two needs at a good value. Backup PG and a defensive wing player. Their only need now is a veteran big man and they still have some decent cap flexibility with which to acquire one. Webber is willing to sign cheap to a contender, Marc Jackson is out there, Melvin Ely, Danny Fortson, Alexander Johnson, Motumbo, Brian Skinner, Alan Henderson, Dwayne Jones (homer pick). They have a lot of options to get another big, athletic, PF/C who can play some minutes behind Perkins and contrast styles with Powe depending on matchups.
Honestly, I would've just thrown the full MLE at Brevin if thats what he wanted, I've said it before, but that guy is argubally the second best passer in the league behind Steve Nash, and I would think that that would be the guy you would want to feed Pierce, Allen & Garnett the ball. As I read in an article about Danny Ainge and his off season so far, if you're going to go all in, go all in.
Just when you want to give Danny Ainge credit he signs one of the most liberal shooters in the league to play back up point. Jackie Manual was in the D-League for a reason, probably b/c he wasn't good enough to play in one of the top leagues overseas let alone the NBA. Dikembe Mutumbo is old enough to be Paul Pierce's father. I'm not sure what the veteran minimum for someone who has been in the league as long as Mutumbo has but he is probably old enough for it to be close to a max deal. You need to surround this group with competent role players not just people who are looking for jobs. Looking for a back up point guard: Mike Wilks fits the role perfectly. He's cheap, he is a pass first point guard that can score, he has played with both Garnett and Allen and he is a winner. Looking for a defensive wing, Ime Udoka is probably too expensive but veterans like Devin Brown and James Singleton are significant upgrades over Jackie Manuel. Looking for an physical inside presence why not look at Rafael Araujo who is about as physically active a big man as there is in this league. Yeah he is foul prone but you don't need your back up center to play 30 minutes a game. Dikembe Mutumbo is a much better fit but I'm sure that he would cost you at least four times as much as Araujo's minimum salary deal. Marc Jackson is also a player I would imagine would be comfortable playing for the minimum. These signings are just plain stupid. Ryan Gomes returning would definitely be an upgrade but I'd like to think on the open market he would get an offer than would far exceed what Boston would be willing to pay for him. I know I would offer him at the very least the biannual exception of roughly 2 million dollars a year. At this juncture that 2 million would be worth 4 million to the Celtics since they are over the luxury tax. Mike Wilks would be the perfect fit for this team. Eddie House is probably the worst player that they could have gotten to fill the role of back up point. I think that it will be difficult enough for Ray, Paul, and Kevin to get the amount of touches that they need to be comfortable without having a journeyman coming off of the bench and looking for his shot at all times. Especially when this journeyman is really not capable of getting other players involved. Jackie Manual is a total reach. I shouldn't be as hard on Danny after he was able to bring in KG but I these moves are idiotic.
I actually like the signing of House because he forms a nice tandem with Rondo. I actually think most people are underrating Rondo as a point guard when they question his ability to flourish in the starting lineup. To me, he's a perfect guy for the situation because he plays above average defense (not Ray Allen's strongpoint), and he is a pass-first point guard who sees the floor well and can make passes that most point guards don't even see. I guess the wort part of it is that he still hasn't proven he can knock down an open shot, which I suppose is not ideal considering how many he will see with 3 studs on the floor. But the other side of that is the fact that 5 guys can't double team 3 players. He's always going to find one of the three when his shot isn't falling. Bringing in House to back him up actually seems pretty good to me because he will take advantage of those open shot opportunites. I've always thought of him as a solid nba player, and it seems like most of my fellow Celtics fans (along with management) have the confidence in Rondo to get the job done, so if that's the case, then somebody cheap like House is all we need as a backup.
